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New York Notice to Vacate Letter

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[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under Notification to terminate monthly tenancy or tenancy from month to month outside the city of New York (N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on one month written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in New York

Tenant notice required: One month
Governing statute: N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b
How the clock runs: Outside New York City, a month-to-month tenant must notify the landlord at least one month before the expiration of the monthly term, and the tenancy ends at the close of that monthly period. Inside NYC no statute sets the tenant's notice (RPL § 232-a governs the landlord's side there), but the same one-month, end-of-rental-month practice applies under common law.
Delivering the notice: Section 232-b does not prescribe writing or a delivery method for tenants outside NYC, but a written, dated notice sent by certified mail or hand-delivered with proof is the safe practice everywhere in the state.
Fixed-term leases: No notice is needed to move out when a definite-term lease expires — § 232-b says so expressly ('no notification shall be necessary to terminate a tenancy for a definite term'). If the tenant stays and the landlord accepts rent, a month-to-month tenancy arises under RPL § 232-c; leases requiring advance renewal or non-renewal notice control if signed.

Worth knowing: The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act lengthened the LANDLORD's non-renewal notice to 30/60/90 days based on length of occupancy (RPL § 226-c) but left the tenant's one-month duty untouched — the two sides are now asymmetric. Rent-stabilized tenants in NYC operate under a renewal-lease system rather than month-to-month rules. Domestic violence victims can terminate early under RPL § 227-c, and servicemembers have rights under NY Military Law § 310 and the federal SCRA.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for New York: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

Section 232-b does not prescribe writing or a delivery method for tenants outside NYC, but a written, dated notice sent by certified mail or hand-delivered with proof is the safe practice everywhere in the state.
Outside New York City, a month-to-month tenant must notify the landlord at least one month before the expiration of the monthly term, and the tenancy ends at the close of that monthly period. Inside NYC no statute sets the tenant's notice (RPL § 232-a governs the landlord's side there), but the same one-month, end-of-rental-month practice applies under common law.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in New York?

Outside New York City, a month-to-month tenant must notify the landlord at least one month before the expiration of the monthly term, and the tenancy ends at the close of that monthly period. Inside NYC no statute sets the tenant's notice (RPL § 232-a governs the landlord's side there), but the same one-month, end-of-rental-month practice applies under common law. The governing statute is Notification to terminate monthly tenancy or tenancy from month to month outside the city of New York.

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in New York?

No notice is needed to move out when a definite-term lease expires — § 232-b says so expressly ('no notification shall be necessary to terminate a tenancy for a definite term'). If the tenant stays and the landlord accepts rent, a month-to-month tenancy arises under RPL § 232-c; leases requiring advance renewal or non-renewal notice control if signed. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else New York renters should know before moving out?

The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act lengthened the LANDLORD's non-renewal notice to 30/60/90 days based on length of occupancy (RPL § 226-c) but left the tenant's one-month duty untouched — the two sides are now asymmetric. Rent-stabilized tenants in NYC operate under a renewal-lease system rather than month-to-month rules. Domestic violence victims can terminate early under RPL § 227-c, and servicemembers have rights under NY Military Law § 310 and the federal SCRA.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in New York, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, New York law generally requires one month written notice from the tenant, under Notification to terminate monthly tenancy or tenancy from month to month outside the city of New York. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites N.Y. Real Property Law § 232-b by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.